Parameter acquisition cables are used in various systems that monitor the health and condition of a patient. Typically, the cable is coupled with a plurality of sensors and a device. The plurality of sensors is attached to a patient and used to collect data from the patient. The data is transferred from the sensors to the device via the cable, where the data is analyzed and sometimes displayed by the device. The device may be a configurable or non-configurable acquisition device, an analytical device or machine, an operator workstation, user interface or display device, and the like. The data captured by the cable may be used to measure physiological data such as pulse oximetery (SpO2), cardiac output (CO), temperature, blood glucose, invasive blood pressure (IBP), non-invasive blood pressure (NBP), mainstream end tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2), electrocardiography/respiration (ECG/Resp), electroencephalography (EEG), venous oxygen saturation (SvO2), impedance cardiography (ICG), Bispectral Index (BIS), neuromuscular transmission (NMT), entropy monitoring, spirometry/respiratory mechanics, metabolic monitoring, anesthetic agent (i.e., gas) monitoring, and the like.
Current cables do not process data obtained from sensors attached to a patient. Further, current cables do not communicate information to a clinician. Thus, current cables miss an opportunity to provide added features to a patient monitoring system. Moreover, the placement of current cables may be limited due to potential degradation of signal transfer with no alert or indication from the cable itself.